Real reason why Ben Johnson didn’t join Southampton from West Ham emerges
Southampton were reportedly close to signing West Ham United full-back Ben Johnson in the summer, before pulling out of the deal.
According to The Athletic, the reasoning behind Southampton pulling the plug on the deal for Ben Johnson was the large loan fee being demanded by West Ham.
Johnson, 23, was being heavily linked with a move to the Saints throughout the summer transfer window.
The young right-back has regressed badly over the past 12 months or so and with that in mind, a loan move away from the Hammers would have been good for him.
However, he remained at the London Stadium in the end and will have to fight for his place under David Moyes until January at the very least…
Southampton pulled plug on deal to sign Ben Johnson from West Ham
The Saints walked away from a deal to sign the 23-year-old full-back in the end because of a high loan fee being demanded by the Hammers.
Johnson has 87 appearances for West Ham (Transfermarkt), but if he doesn’t improve massively, he won’t be adding to that tally anytime soon.
His positional play and concentration levels are truly horrendous and considering the position he plays in, those weaknesses can be really costly for West Ham.
As harsh as it sounds, I cannot seeing Ben Johnson having a future with West Ham, or with any other Premier League club for that matter.
The Championship may well be more suited to the 23-year-old’s level.
Who knows though, maybe Johnson will turn things around over the next few months and still forge out a career for himself with West Ham.
Carlton Palmer highlights “massive plus” at Southampton amongst transfer assessment
Carlton Palmer tells FLW his thoughts on Southampton’s summer transfer business
HIGHLIGHTS
- Southampton’s busy summer transfer window saw the club overhaul their squad and earn a significant profit from player sales.
- Despite the high player turnover, Southampton has maintained a strong performance, currently sitting in fifth place in the Championship.
- Southampton’s signings, such as Ross Stewart and Ryan Manning, along with retaining key players like Che Adams, provide the team with enough quality to compete for a top-six finish and potentially automatic promotion.
Southampton had an incredibly hectic summer transfer window.
In many ways, the club is probably just happy that the market has shut until January after all the business that happened over the last few months.
The Saints have overhauled their first team squad following the appointment of Russell Martin as manager.
The south coast club dropped into the Championship for this season, and saw a lot of major first team players depart St. Mary’s as a result.
Southampton earned a massive profit in player sales, which was reinvested back into bringing the likes of Ross Stewart and Shea Charles into the fold.
Did Southampton have a successful summer transfer window?
Carlton Palmer has claimed that the Championship side will likely be happy with how things have panned out for the team.
He has highlighted that the team is sitting fifth in the table as a sign that they have managed to maintain a high level of performance despite the high level of player turnover.
“Southampton sat in seventh place in the league, only three points off the league leaders, will be pretty happy,” Palmer told Football League World.
“Always difficult to balance the incomings and outgoings and get results at the start of the season.
“They had 20 players leave the club, bringing in over £150m. Southampton have also seen 10 new arrivals that have (cost) up to six times less than that, giving Southampton a plus balance.
“Bringing in such quality of Ross Stewart, Shea Charles, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Ryan Fraser and Flynn Downes.
“Keeping hold of Che Adams also was a massive plus for Southampton.
“As I said, I think Southampton will be very happy with how the market ended up.”
Southampton have earned 10 points from a possible 15 so far this season, which should give supporters confidence that the team can compete for promotion.
A 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Sunderland just before the September international break was not the performance the Saints needed before two weeks without a game.
However, Martin’s side have generally played quite well and got good results in their other four league fixtures.
The Saints return to action after the break with a difficult home fixture against their fellow recently relegated side Leicester City.
The two meet at St. Mary’s on 15 September.
Can Southampton compete for automatic promotion this season?
Southampton have lost a lot of talent in the last couple of months but have brought in solid replacements that should help the team compete at the top of the table.
The likes of Ross Stewart and Ryan Manning are quality players that compare to the very best in the division in their respective positions.
Southampton also held onto some talented players that should still give the team an edge in the battle for a top two or top six spot.
The loss to Sunderland showed that it won’t be easy to fight at the top, but Southampton should have enough to finish in the top six.
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